- At the business venue of the St. Petersburg International Forum, you spoke on the topic of producing and developing young talents. In your opinion, how can you protect young talents from harshness, cruelty in competition and external aggression, so as not to extinguish the fire in their eyes and the desire to develop and conquer new heights?

- Firstly, it seems to me that young talent should not be limited to anything and nobody. Therefore, to protect it or to create special complex or insurmountable “fences” around talent, if only external life, some events do not touch it, is in no way possible. It is impossible to create greenhouse conditions for human development.

A child must be brought up in that environment and in that century in which he was born, and live by all those events that all other people live. I say “rest” because we are talking about a talented child. The only thing needed is to enable this talent to show itself. Subsequently, raising a child in the family, it is necessary to give the opportunity to realize this talent. In no case do not extinguish it.

And vice versa: do not make a person who does not have talent think that he sings well. His parents so imposed him, teachers said, and give the impression of his exclusivity in relation to other children, which he simply does not have.

The family should have an atmosphere of family, love and harmony. If you see that your child is talented in something, give him the opportunity to realize it. No need to limit it, no need to create any special greenhouse conditions. You just need to help, lead. You can’t force a child to do something.

Let's say you, as a mother, have some unrealized talents of a ballerina or singer, and you definitely want your daughter to become a ballerina or singer too. And if she does not want? Maybe she wants to become a soccer player. Let her do what she wants to do. You as a parent need to be given the opportunity to realize. Then, it seems to me, the child will become a happy adult.

- You have been working on Channel One for over 15 years. What saves you from creative burnout?

- I can say this: probably my boss, Konstantin Lvovich Ernst. But seriously, including him. I'm a grown man. And, let's say, that reserve of time that you have in order to realize your plans, ideas, every year (the way life is arranged) is becoming less and less.

Therefore, when you start to feel it, when you feel and know what time is, every hour, every minute - this also saves from burnout. Therefore, if you have a desire to do something, you always realize it. I’m just 100% sure of that.

- Your first project on Channel One was the Star Factory. The whole country watched the participants. What do you think today would such a format be relevant, or would the "behind the glass" genre become obsolete?

“I think not.” I will explain why. Not so long ago, one of the television channels tried to make the "Star Factory". It seems to me that the time for this format has simply gone.

We understand very well that we are talking about a television show. How people live and how they allegedly try to become popular, what they do, it still looks like an imitation. If ten years ago it was interesting, popular and new, now everyone has long since seen that this is not so, and everything is much more complicated in life.

These stars, or rather, young guys “who become stars”, then do not become stars if they don’t have a clear, clear producer’s hand — people who would do it, their career, writing songs, popular music for them, so that they somehow sounded on the radio, their clips were not only on the network, but also appeared on television channels. All this is an imitation of success, real life - and it is not so interesting anymore.

  • Participants of the "Star Factory - 4"
  • globallookpress.com
  • © Maxim Burlak / Russian Look

It turns out that they are in this space. Yes, they are being watched, something is happening between them. There are tenacious formats (we will not call them) that exist for 20 years and build life, relationships and love. But these formats have a peculiar, it seems to me, audience. For example, I, despite the fact that I work on television and, in theory, should be a professional, I just can’t stand this kind of story. And I think that this is a monstrous waste by the viewers of their time, their lives on meaninglessness.

In the "Factory of stars" still had a clear and clear idea. A person became a popular or interesting singer. That is, he somehow showed his talent. This is his difference from reality. It seems to me that formats like “Voice” have appeared now, and a host of others that are much more interesting, more dynamic, brighter, more expressive than what was before. The time has gone.

- Do you have an idea of ​​how much it costs to extend the “Voice”? For example, ten years ...

- There is. The fact is that Konstantin Lvovich and I already wanted to close it. But, when the first of September approached - the beginning of the next television season - we, without saying a word, realized that we should not stop him. The viewer just got used to it and just started, as if he saw through it, became a taste of this story. And he wants to sit on TV every Friday and watch what happens on the Voice.

When we understood this, we began to continue. And I’m sure that our intuition will never let us down. When we feel that we need to stop (we will definitely feel it), of course, we will. We don’t have a task to do ten years of “Voice”, that is, 10 seasons or 15 - God forbid to make so far. Therefore, solely on the understanding that there must be something else. And then, you have to come up with something else.

- The scandal related to the sixth season of “Voices of Children” somehow influenced the ratings, the attitude of the audience? Maybe fewer applications?

- The scandal is a scandal, because it is, in general, an atypical form of the course of events. I do not want to comment on this story, firstly. Because it has long been over. Everyone already understood (everyone who was involved in it) their mistakes, that all this is wrong.

Absolutely no way to simulate success, you can not buy it. Because it is a pure kind of deception. Especially when it comes to children.

But I believe that those numbers, the rating that we have on the “Voice. 60+ ”and the usual“ Voice ”, they speak in favor of the project and that what happened did not affect in any way.

People continue to believe in the objectivity and honesty of what is happening. And the “Voice” is all the more attractive because in it we, the producers, and those people who make it, have no interest in who will win. Except for one: a talented person must win. Then it is attractive to the viewer, then he looks, watches, chooses heroes for himself. He himself votes for them in the final stages of the project. And just like that - no other way.

- This year the interactivity of “Voices” just increased, the viewer has the opportunity to predict who will go to the next stage, who will win. Is such an innovation planned for the next seasons?

- Of course. Depending on what modern gadgets allow us to do, we do just that. This is done in all countries, and not only in Russia, where the “Voice” is taking place. He, in my opinion, goes more than in 50 countries of the world. It is still the most popular television format. No one has come up with anything better.

And how much are you free to make innovations on your own, given that this is an adaptation ... First, we do this (we are in very good relations with the company, which is the copyright holder of the Voice format): my friend, a consultant, constantly comes to us - already during these eight years we are together. His name is Maurits. Lovely perfect man. We invented and introduced many things, and other countries use them. Some things, on the contrary, were brought in by other countries, not the Dutch, who invented this project. For example, the Americans offered something interesting or the British.

And we all - the whole family of television channels that uses this format - use interesting, various chips, tricks that allow us to further attract interest in the program. At the same time, without diminishing its merits, which I spoke about.

Honesty, objectivity, informality of what is happening, absolute sincerity and self-disposition of those people who participate in this project. And in the form of jury members. After all, they are also very difficult to pick up. Compose so that it is some kind of community of people, completely different, completely independent of each other, with different views on music. At the same time, they are witty, interesting, able to communicate with each other, explain to the contestants, in fact, what is happening, and say to someone: “Why did you come here? You better not do that. ” For all that, our project is very kind, very humane.

- You did a lot of Eurovision. Do not you think that this competition, as a musical, vocal, is becoming obsolete, because lately, it seems that it has been attracting attention more of a political component than a creative one?

- Everything that you said was 15 years ago, when I first encountered Eurovision. I didn’t even work then ... Not 15, probably more - 16 or 17, when Konstantin Lvovich Ernst invited me as a commentator. I also worked at the Europa Plus radio station as a producer. Already then it was said that this competition was politicized, that his time had passed.

  • Yuri Aksyuta and Channel One CEO Konstantin Ernst
  • © Vladimir Astapkovich / RIA News

So, 16 years have passed. Everything remains in the same condition as it was. Incredible ratings in all countries. No matter how much the English scolded or mocked him, no matter what lame artists they send there, the contest is still held in England, and all this is fun, funny. With the comments of the host who does this. And in all countries the same thing happens. The number of countries participating in the Eurovision Song Contest has not decreased over the years, due to, for example, creativity.

It decreases only if countries do not find the financial opportunity to come. This is an expensive pleasure. In addition to the fees that you pay for participation in the competition, you still need to bring a team there, live there for two weeks.

There are simply small countries and small television companies that are not able to withstand this financial burden. For this reason only. We will not talk about Ukraine and about what happened several years ago. Therefore, the competition continues to be very interesting for the whole of Europe. Plus Australia. Plus, America, where they watch it, but no one is participating, because after all, another continent - an exception has been made for Australia.

As for musicality. Firstly, this contest was never vocal. Do not forget that, it seems, on the one hand, a competition of artists, and on the other - it has always been called a song contest. Eurovision is a song contest. Therefore, the main character of this competition is the song.

It is clear that a song cannot exist on its own, without an artist. And also, it cannot exist by itself (since this is a television show) without a number, that is, a wrapper, the design of this number. Taken together, all this together constitutes the Eurovision Song Contest. This is a unique television format that has been around for almost 60 years. I do not know any such format anymore.

- Does it seem to me, or are our participants less and less singing songs in Russian?

“Yes, that doesn't seem to you.” Our participants stopped performing songs in Russian a very long time ago. Although the charter of Eurovision says that the form of the song in the national language of the country that the artist represents is welcomed.

But here everything is very simply explained - in my opinion, one can easily guess. In addition to music, a song also has lyrics. In the highest sense of the word, poetry. In order to make it clear what the singer is suffering about or what he is having fun with, the words must be understood. Therefore, if we sing in Russian, we will sing only for those people who understand the Russian language, that is, for themselves and for the countries of the former USSR. Therefore, we always do it. We want us to talk with the whole of Europe, with the whole world, in this case. Since this contest is broadcast to the whole world.

- Is there any universal recipe that allows a participant to win Eurovision?

- Not. Everyone is trying to find it, this formula of happiness, the formula of success, but no one finds it.

- Do you see patterns with a professional look that ...

- Oh sure. No, I just know all the patterns. There is already an established phrase “Eurovision format”. This is a certain musical form in which it is clear that this is a song for the Eurovision Song Contest.

In fact, all this is nonsense, and the victory is mainly won by songs, which are usually called hits. Now it’s quite difficult to create a hit, so there are not many.

Not everyone is referring to the Eurovision Song Contest as I say. I spent a lot of time with him in my life, participating in it as a commentator, as the head of the delegation, as the person who selected the artist, prepared him. Music producers all over the world still understand the commercial value of the hit. Therefore, of course, they make it for widespread use, and not specifically for the competition. Because there are still some restrictions.

For the competition - this means it is being done for the competition, this hit, this song should be highlighted at the competition. More precisely, this song, which should be a hit. Just a little worthy of talented material, that's all. Little talented music. I don’t know for what reason. Apparently, due to the fact that this competition is very commercialized, and people somehow begin to prepare. You can write a song by order, but it’s difficult. Therefore, a song is written for the Eurovision participant. It is compiled, invented, and not born. This is probably the problem.

See the full version of the interview with Yuri Aksyuta on the RTD website.